


2000 Ways To Get Back To You

by AristoMuse



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood Loss, Blood and Violence, Death, Feels, Fluffy Ending, Longing, Love Confessions, M/M, Murder-Suicide, Mutual Pining, OTP Feels, Post-Canon, Reincarnation, Suicide, War, reincarnation cycle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:23:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AristoMuse/pseuds/AristoMuse
Summary: Their first lives had ended in blood and heartbreak.So had their second. And their third. And fourth.After many centuries and countless cycles, the world was finally peaceful enough to let them be together.(Several reincarnations fic)





	2000 Ways To Get Back To You

**Author's Note:**

> Unoriginal title I know, but I felt like writing something extremely romantic for Levi x Eren since my other fic will take a long time before it even hints at romance. Inspired by several doujins!

**"As the last Titan in the world, Eren Jaeger will be executed...by Levi Ackerman."**

Levi sat silent in his assigned room, staring down at his hands. His scarred and calloused hands, rough from years of wielding weapons, had been dipped in the blood of many. Both humans and Titans had lost their lives to him. He knew that he was always responsible for this, that he had accepted this mission from the very beginning knowing what would happen, and yet...

"Why..." He whispered, guilt and pain and so much frustration crushing him on the inside. "Why did it have to be like this..?" With every breath he took, the very air pressed down on him, as if making him bow for his sins. Why did he have to fall in love with the _one_ person he knew he was going to one day execute? Eren Jaeger, the only one who had ever fought stubbornly through his barriers and into his wounded heart. A heart that was tired and weary but still so full of love for his brat. 

His beautiful, kind, and innocent brat whose only sin was taking on Humanity's burden onto himself.

And this was how they were going to repay him.

By making his own lover kill him.

He felt decades older than he was, the long lasting war against the Titans having taken everything from him. Farlan, Isabel, Gunther, Eld, Oluo, Petra...Erwin...and now Eren.

The very people he had fought so hard to protect wanted his love dead. And the worst part was...

Eren had agreed to it willingly.

A polite knock on his door averted his attention, and he slowly looked up with an expressionless face. The person who knocked didn't say a thing, didn't have to. They all knew what was going to happen.

It was time.

Getting up on sore and tired legs, Levi forced them to move, forced them to walk with Hange at his side, all the way to the courtyard in Mitras where an execution platform was set up. There was already a crowd of people waiting, most of them being the very nobles who scoffed at them as if they were a waste of taxpayer money. Military Police lined the sidelines, with four of them standing on guard at the very top of the platform. 

As Levi walked up the steps, another door opened, the one that lead to the dungeons, and out came- Levi's breath hitched. Eren.

The few days that they had been separated shown on the Titan shifter's face. His hair had grown oily and unwashed, and his boyishly handsome face sported days worth of facial hair. He was handcuffed in a simple white button up and gray pants, reminding Levi with a bittersweet pang to his heart of the day they had met in court. No matter what, it seemed that Levi was always destined to hurt him the most.

The two guards led Eren up on the platform with his hands tied behind his back, but they didn't need to. Eren walked slowly but purposefully, a calm and melancholy smile on his face. Levi wanted to punch it off. 

Stepping onto the platform, Eren knelt down in the middle and waited.

Clenching his jaw, Levi unsheathed his blade and slowly walked up behind him, the other guards moving away to give them room. The entire courtyard held their breaths, anticipating what was going to happen next.

"Eren..." Levi whispered, face twitching into an anguished expression. "Please, say the word and we'll go. We can escape..." Eren could turn into a Titan and he would ride on his shoulder to a place far far away from any other people. Please...

Eren only closed his eyes and smiled. "...I love you, Captain." He mouthed, the sound barely audible over the many shuffling viewers, yet Levi heard it as loud as a Titan's roar. And he hated him. He hated him so much. How could he do this to him. Why was he so selfish to make his own lover kill him?

"Because there's no one else I trust to do it." Eren answered, and Levi belatedly realized he had hissed his last question. "I don't belong in this world anymore...Please?" He turned his head to look at him, begging him with those eyes he so loved and yearned for and dreamed of making them curve up in a smile.

Closing his eyes, Levi slowly raised his arm, his sword poised in the air.

"No!"

He glanced out toward the back where his subordinate and distant cousin, Mikasa, struggled under the weight of ten men as well as the rest of his squad. "Eren!" She cried out desperately, pointlessly reaching out with a hand. "Eren, please! Fight back! PLEASE!"

Eren's lips quivered but he stood by his decision, bowing his head low to reveal his bare neck. "Captain...No. Levi," He had thrown away all formalities at this point. "Please."

"...You've always been a brat, Eren." Levi murmured, and steeling his heart, he brought his sword down. 

And so he killed his own heart.

The crowd began to cheer when they saw the head roll off the body and onto the platform, but began to quiet when Levi didn't stop. He brought his sword down again, and again, and again, until Humanity's Hope was nothing more than a bloody mess of flesh.

A silence pervaded the entire courtyard, and Levi slowly looked up with dead eyes, warm blood splattered on his face. "...Why are you all so quiet?" He murmured, the courtyard so silent that it had the same impact as a shout. "Isn't this what you wanted? To kill the only person who cared enough to save you all at the cost of his own life?"

The crowd squirmed uncomfortably, avoiding his judgmental gaze. With no one stopping him, Levi bent down and picked up Eren's head. His beautiful emerald eyes were closed, and only a speckle of blood marred his flawless face. Levi could almost fool himself into thinking he was just sleeping, and he held him delicately in his arms.

Stepping down from the platform, he wordlessly walked through the crowd, and the people parted for him, keeping a distance away from the blood that covered him and the severed head in his arms. 

He passed by his own squad without a look, but he knew that Mikasa and Armin stared up at him, or rather at what was in his arms, and Mikasa broke down in wailing sobs. Armin as well began to cry, crumbling into himself at seeing his best friend's peaceful face, cradled in his captain's embrace. 

The courtyard stared in silence, horrified with a startling sense of guilt, but Levi didn't care. He continued to walk, and walk, and walk, until there was no one but him and Eren.

The sky was a light blue, dotted with a few fluffy clouds, and a pleasant wind blew through the grass, bringing the scent of nature to his nose.

He leaned his cheek against Eren's head. "Isn't this peaceful?" He murmured, closing his eyes and cherishing those soft brown locks that grazed his skin. He could almost imagine he was here on a picnic with his beloved, and they were here to take a quiet nap together under the wide blue sky.

Taking a seat underneath a large tree, Levi cradled his treasure in his hands and gave those cold lips one last kiss. Remembering how they felt against his, how they were dry but smooth. How when they would kiss in secret, they were always curved up into a giddy smile, and his own were lifted just enough in response. 

"I'll find you, Eren." He swore to the sun, the moon, and the stars. "In the next life, I'll find you." Then we can be together again.

He pulled out his sword.

When Squad Levi finally found him again, they found two heads instead of one, both their eyes closed and quiet.

 

* * *

 

 

When Levi cracked open his eyes, his mind could barely comprehend where he was. His eyesight was rather blurry, and his ears were assaulted by the sound of his screeching siblings, crying out for their mother.

When he blinked again, he saw a large black bird with blue accents staring down at them, a worm caught in its beak. It began to chomp down on its food, making sure it was mush, before it bent down and deposited bits and pieces into the mouths of his siblings and finally him.

It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize he was a bird, a newly born Magpie at that. The moment he realized he wasn't even human, he had cried as much as a bird could, though no tears left his eyes. He screeched and screeched, and in the end, his own mother had picked him up and threw him out of the nest. 

Screaming, he spread his wings and just as he was about to hit the ground, a gust of wind came and lifted him up, and he realized with elation that he was _flying_. He truly had the wings of freedom. 

He relished the sheer freedom, the ease in which he glided in the air. It was nice to not care about anything except his next meal. No predator had ever been able to catch him. Even though he wasn't human and he didn't have ODM gear, he was still the fastest thing he knew of.

But one thing bugged him as the years had gone by.

If he had been reborn...then maybe Eren had been as well?

Levi could only hope, just a sliver in his small heart. 

And so he began to fly. He flew over small villages, large cities, and vast forests. He didn't know where he was, but nothing the humans had were familiar. They wore long robes, and everyone's hair was a dark brown or black. Their facial features reminded him of Mikasa's, but more distinct. They had primitive technology, nothing like the Walls, and he could only wonder. Just where and when had he been reborn in?

The years flew by, and so did he. He flew for countless days, months, years. He flew leagues away from where he had been born, and he didn't even remember what his siblings looked like or his mother. None of them really mattered. What mattered was finding Eren, if he existed here.

One day, a long time later, he fluttered down to a small village and rested on a high branch. He was tired. He didn't know how long it had been since he had been born, and he didn't know how long he had lived. Far longer than he should've as a bird, which meant his time was running out and he was beginning to panic. 

"Eren!" He tried to scream, only for it to come out as a melodic tweet. 

A shadow moved in the house next to his designated tree, and he twisted his head to look through the open window where a young man looked up at him. He had long dark brown hair and thick brows, and his face was slender in the way only the long term ill looked. His robes hung on his small shoulders, making him seem almost like a ghost, but the one thing that really stood out to Levi was his eyes.

Emerald green.

The magpie could only stare down at what could only be his beloved, and after a moment, he hesitantly flew down to the windowsill. The young man followed his movements, tilting his head when he saw him land. Levi tilted his head as well.

And the young man let out a quiet but genuine laugh. "可愛..." Cute. He murmured, and Levi could only blink at the unfamiliar language. He hadn't realized in all his years of travel that the humans here spoke a different language than the one he used to speak in his previous life. 

But he was sure this man was Eren.

His heart, many times smaller than his human one, beat fast at the thought, and his very soul cried out for him.

But how could he hear? Eren was human and Levi was a magpie. Even if they could communicate, it wouldn't work between them. Their mortal forms weren't compatible even when their souls were. And Levi was close to the end of his life cycle.

Eren smiled down at him and extended a hand, lifting up his finger. Levi didn't even hesitate to jump on, and chirped happily. It hurt to know he couldn't be with him properly, but at least he had found him. That was better than nothing.

He only hoped, in the next life...

 

* * *

 

Whimpering, Eren limped down the alley on his bad leg, stumbling with every other step. His mother had been killed, and his two siblings as well. He had luckily escaped while the exterminators were busy with his pack, but in his haste, he had crash landed down a steep staircase and broke his leg. No one stopped to help him, and after living months like this, he knew the people here wouldn't extend their hand out to him.

An unwanted mutt.

The world here didn't have Titans, but the people were even crueler, never stopping when someone was hurt, not even blinking an eye when the occasional person dropped dead in the streets. It was constantly raining, and the smell of disease and human filth stung his sensitive nose. The hard cobblestones hurt his paws, and he was so hungry and tired and in pain...

"Levi..." He whimpered, collapsing in a tiny heap next to a trashcan. He had spent his last life constantly sick and sheltered in China, and now he would spend his probably short life cold and starving in London. That bird had been a light in his life, chirping to make him smile, fluttering over him when his illness had taken a turn for the worse. It was unfortunate that the bird had died a year later, just a still form of feathers on his pillow. He had been his only friend.

And now as a dog, he was all alone. Unwanted. Unloved. Forgotten.

He missed his captain so much. His idol, his superior, his lover.

The world was cruel...

"You're a sight for sore eyes."

Ears perking up, Eren struggled to lift his head to look up at the human who spoke to him, and his bark died on his tongue. The man crouched down in front of him, using a newspaper as a makeshift umbrella. His ebony hair was cropped short, and he wore a black trench coat as well as a top hat. Even though his features were a little different, Eren could never mistake those half lidded silver eyes, slim eyebrows, and that downturn curve of his lips.

"Levi..!" Eren breathed out, the sound coming out as a soft yip. 

"You're fuckin' filthy, aren'tcha." Levi spoke, his lips curling in disgust. "Don't have a mum around?"

Eren wilted. His captain didn't recognize him. Why would he? He was just a stupid puppy, he thought self-loathingly. A dirty puppy at that.

He yelped when a hand scooped him up, tucking him into a warm and cozy environment. Snuggling deeper into the jacket, Eren looked up with big eyes at the man who used to be his captain, and licked his hand as thanks.

"Don't do that." Levi snapped. "Don't know where ya mouth's been. I'm gonna clean ya up until you're sparklin'." His thumb caressed his side. "Getcha some food, too, and wrap that bad leg up." 

Eren wagged his tail and his tongue lolled out, happy that even though he wasn't in the body he wanted, his captain still wanted him. 

When they arrived at Levi's flat, Eren was immediately thrown into the tub and was rubbed down vigorously by his new master. He whined and wiggled around, but he wanted to be clean too, and he wanted to be good for his former lover. If only there was some way he could tell him that he was Eren...

After multiple baths, Eren was finally deemed clean enough for bandaging and was allowed to roam around. He sniffed at the furniture and the hard wood floors, noting that even though everything was worn down, it was clean and well maintained. As expected of his clean freak of a lover. 

"Oi, you hungry?" Levi's voice called out from the kitchen, and Eren excitedly stumbled his way to him, ignoring how his leg still hurt.

He barked at his former captain in high pitched yips, tail wagging. "Levi! It's me! Eren! Please say you understand me!" He couldn't bear the thought of his love not knowing who he was. It was okay if they weren't able to be real lovers, that they were owner and dog, so long as he knew...

Levi knelt down with a plate of boiled chicken meat scraps and patted his head as he ate. "...How cute." He murmured. "What should I name you?"

"Eren!" Eren yipped. "My name is Eren! Please recognize me, Levi!" Please please please.

Sighing, Levi stood up again and took a seat at the kitchen table. "I'll need ta check how ta keep ya...Who knows what kinda diseases ya got."

Wilting, Eren plopped down on the floor. Right. Because his broken leg could still become infected. Maybe...Maybe it was better that Levi didn't know it was him. How sad would it be to know his old lover was a puppy, one who was prone to infection? And even if he would turn out fine, he was still a dog that would die in a couple years.

A hand came down to pat his head and Eren's tail wagged without volition. "...You remind me of someone in my memories." Levi murmured nostalgically. "I hope he's all right, wherever he is. I'm tryin' ta find him, you see, but it's hard. The world's gettin' bigger and bigger, and there's so many more people."

Eren listened quietly. Was Levi looking for him? The human him?

"...Hope you don't mind, but I'll call you Eren for now, okay?" Levi smirked lightly. "It'd be funny if I met him again only for him ta find out I named a dog after him. In the mean time, hope my place is good enough for ya, flea bag."

Heart aching, Eren could only lick his owner's hand. "I love you, Levi..."

He may only live for a couple of years, but he promised to make Levi smile and laugh no matter what.

And maybe, one day...

In another life...

 

* * *

 

When Levi was born as a human baby in the Alps, he cried and cried and cried.

His parents couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, and every night they spent lying awake as their son cried himself to sleep and cried every day, every minute. 

Levi didn't know why he kept crying either, only that his heart hurt, his soul _aching_ for its other half. "Où es-tu, Eren..." Where are you, Eren? 

The other half that had just departed the world when he was born.

 

Eren closed his tired eyes, tears leaking, and he let out his last breath. His skin was worn and wrinkled, and he had lived a long time. Searching and waiting. Searching and waiting.  

But his frail old body couldn't hold on any longer, and he couldn't help but whisper his apologies to the air. "Es tut mir leid, Levi...Vielleicht das nächste Leben." Sorry, Levi...Maybe the next life.

 

* * *

 

"B-29 L, now above the target. Over." Levi reported into his headset, tilting the control so that the cargo door of his fighter jet was angled toward the town.

" _Copy that, B-29 L, you have permission to begin. Over._ "

"Copy."

He adjusted his gas, switched a few levers, and pressed the button that would open the cargo door. The storage port slowly spread open and one by one, bombs were dropped down above the peaceful town of Hamamatsu. This was the second city Levi was assigned to bombing today and he was unleashing every last ammunition he had on board. 

It was sickening that humans warred with each other like this, but he was one of those participating in mass killings, so what room did he have to speak as if he was any better?

He had trained to be a pilot in the U.S. Airforce, because it was the closest he came to flying again since he was a bird, and before that, as a Survey Corps soldier. He aced his exams and sped through training at an alarming rate, with his superiors jokingly calling him "Humanity's Strongest" who belonged to the US of A.

He was too numb and tired.

He hadn't seen Eren since he was a bird, not even when he was a columnist in the dirty streets of London though he always felt like he was right around the corner, and he definitely didn't find him when he was growing up in the cold Alps of France. So many cycles came and went, and Eren always slipped out of his grasp, but he kept chasing and chasing. 

How long until he could see him again, human to human? How long until he could soak in the sight of those emerald green eyes that appeared no matter his ethnicity or form, that beautiful chocolate brown hair, and that wide and happy grin that could make even the coldest people's hearts warm. Like his own had.

Levi missed him so much. Missed holding him in his arms, missed making him bend down to kiss him, missed kissing away his tears when they made love, missed his bright and beautiful soul.

It had been so long...

A dull explosion rocked behind him and he knew the first bombs made contact with land. His headphones canceled out most of the noise though, and he continued pressing the button that detached the bombs from the storage port. He felt guilty for doing this, but it was barely a drop in the ocean of pain his soul constantly felt at missing his other half. Nothing mattered except Eren. No matter who he killed, who he bombed, how many families he ravaged. Only Eren mattered.

Dropping the last bomb, Levi glanced out of his cockpit and spotted a dark spot on the ground. The dark spot was a black high school uniform he had seen in his debriefings, making the person down there just a teenager. "Sorry..." He whispered. It was just another person he would kill, but for some reason, he didn't look away.

The high schooler took off his cap, showing his messy brown hair, and looked up directly at the pilot through the cockpit window.

And he smiled. A sad, heartfelt smile, full of "I'm sorry's" and "I Love you's." 

With that smile, those emerald green eyes curved up.

And Levi stopped breathing.

In the next second, the teenager had disappeared, his body torn to pieces and evaporated into nothing from the explosion, along with the rest of the hill he had stood upon.

The land below him was wrought with fire and destruction, and Levi could only stare blankly ahead at nothing when he realized what he had done. "E-Eren..." He breathed out shakily, eyes wide with tears pooling down. "Eren, Eren, Eren..." He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he couldn't hear his superior shouting instructions to him through his headset. His chest _ached_ with an unbearable pain, hot and molting, just like the explosion that had occurred below him.

He just killed the reincarnation of his lover. The man he had been searching for for years, for _lifetimes_. Blown to pieces at the push of a button.

He had murdered Eren.

Again.

No no no nononononon **onono** -

He broke.

Taking out his knife, Levi didn't even hesitate to slit his own throat. He didn't feel an ounce of physical pain, outweighed by the fact that his very being cried out in panic and agony. He choked on his own blood before his dead body slammed on the controls, sending the jet nosediving toward the ground.

Eren...

 

* * *

 

 How many times did he have to live, only to have his other half slip away?

When can they finally be together?

Two more lifetimes?

Five?

A hundred?

He was so tired...

All he wanted

Was

To

Be

With

_Him_

 

* * *

 

 

Levi looked down at his small shoes, not paying attention to the people around him.

His mother was dead, having been deathly allergic to hornets. One had stung her a few days ago, and he could only be rocked by how familiar the situation was. His mother dying in bed while he stayed curled up in a corner, not bathing or eating. It was only when the Local Community Watch noticed no one had entered or left his house in a week did they come and check the situation.

His mother was currently being prepped for her funeral, and his house was being packed away into boxes and would be held in storage until he came of age.

Levi didn't really care. This woman who had birthed him may look identical to his first mother, but she wasn't really. 

He was only going through the motions until he could find Eren again.

Whether it was in this lifetime, or the next, or beyond, he would keep going to find his brat...

He was just so tired though. Exhausted to the bone, even though his body was that of a six year old. He felt ancient, having the memories of countless lifetimes imprinted in his soul so that no matter what new body he had, he always remembered. He could only theorize that Eren might be experiencing the same thing, wherever he is.

"Hi, you're Ribai-kun, right?" A kind older woman smiled down at him. "You don't have any other relatives, do you?"

He slowly shook his head no.

"Well, Yaega-san next door volunteered to look after you. She has a son as well, only a year old, but if you like living with her, she's willing to adopt you." The lady told him. "Do you know her? She moved into the neighborhood a couple weeks ago."

He shook his head no again. As if he cared about any new neighbors or whatever. He didn't care about anything anymore except the thought of Eren.

Smile faltering, the older woman held out a hand. "Let's go introduce yourself to her, hm? I know it's hard now that your mother is gone, but we will do our best to take care of you."

Not taking her hand, Levi stood up on his feet and followed after her silently with a backpack full of clothes and toiletries. He was moving to a new place, just next door even. They had a baby as well, which he wasn't happy about. He would remain courteous to them for as long as he stayed, but as soon as he had the resources, he was leaving.

He _needed_ to find Eren.

The older lady guided him next door to a well kept house, one that was bigger than his own, and rang the doorbell. "Coming!" The intercom chirped, a kind woman's voice calling out of it.

The door opened a few moments later, showing a rather beautiful woman carrying a one year old to her chest. "Hello there! You must be Ribai-kun, it's very nice to meet you." Yaega-san smiled down at him, and he could almost feel something. Why did she look so familiar? "My condolences to you about your mother. You're welcome to stay with us until you're of age."

"Why?" Levi asked quietly.

She hummed, the baby squirming against her chest. "I'm not sure...But something tells me I should extend my hand to you, no matter what."

Levi stayed silent but accepted her reasoning. If she tried anything, he knew how to defend himself.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted, Ribai-kun." The lady who had brought him here chimed in, and walked away back to the Neighborhood Watch Committee that was still sorting out his house.

Levi closed the front door behind him and turned back to his new guardian, watching as the baby on her chest squirmed so much he almost slipped out of his harness.

"Hey hey..!" The young mother yelped but sighed. "You're curious about your new brother, aren't you? All right then..." Lifting the toddler out of the harness, she turned him around and waved his little hand at him. "Say hello, Eren."

Levi stopped breathing.

Eren stared back at him with wide and innocent emerald eyes, drool escaping from his chubby cheeks. His shaggy brown hair was cut exactly as Levi remembered it, and as the baby squirmed in his mother's grasp, a small fist came up to his chest.

And Eren saluted, albeit rather clumsily. "Extewminate..!" He babbled happily.

And for the first time in this lifetime, Levi felt tears mist over his eyes, and he raised a clenched fist to his heart as well, saluting his former subordinate and charge. Was this real..? Had it really been so easy this time?

Yaega-san looked at them curiously, but passed it off as a kids thing, and went off to make lunch, leaving Eren with Levi on the backyard patio.

Levi stared down at the toddler in his arms, and held his breath, his heart beating with anticipation. "...Eren?" He whispered. "Eren Jaeger?" 

Eren beamed up at him like a cherub. "Levi...Heichouuu..."

That was it.

Breathing shakily, Levi cradled his lover's young form to him and began to cry in joy. "Eren..! Eren, I found you..." He sobbed, centuries and centuries worth of pain pouring out of him. Years and years of agonizing loneliness without him, without anyone who knew him, and they were finally allowed to be together. "Eren..."

Chubby hands smacked against his cheeks and he looked up through watery eyes at the pouting toddler. "No cwying!" Eren lectured, making an adorable sight. "No mo' huwt! Okie?"

Wiping away his tears, Levi gave him a wide grin, too happy to care that he had never smiled this widely before. Why wouldn't he smile like this? He had found him again. He had found his brat, who was literally a brat right now. He had found his beloved. _He had found his other half._

And he'll never let go. The world could explode for all he cared so long as Eren was with him. And he would suffer another hundred cycles without him so long as they would find each other again. 

"Okay, Eren."

"Levii?"

"Yeah?"

"I wuv you..."

"...I love you, too."

 

* * *

 

 

"Heichou!!!" Eren whined for the older man who froze at the sound of his voice.

Turning around with an irritated scowl, Levi gave him a stern glare. "Stop calling me that." He snapped, though there was no heat in his words. "I haven't been your captain for a long time now."

"I know, but think of it as a nickname." The teenager on the cusp of being a man suggested amicably, leaning down to give his older lover a hug. "You're still my Senpai, so just think of Heichou as my form of calling you Senpai." Eren snickered, but yelped when Levi elbowed him in the gut. "Ow!"

"That's what you deserve." Levi grumbled lightheartedly, resuming his walk back to his apartment. 

He had moved out of the Yaega residence as soon as he turned sixteen years old, wanting a place for himself and Eren in the future. He had to be the more responsible one since even in this world, Eren was a whiny spoiled brat. He wanted to be able to provide for Eren; to protect him financially, emotionally, and physically. Never again would he let the younger man out of his sight. No one else mattered as much as Eren.

Eren hadn't wanted him to leave, but after being invited over to his apartment, he realized belatedly that it was actually a good idea. They could finally talk about the years they had spent in whatever form they had taken, what lives they had lived, and just why it had all started like this. They theorized that maybe their love for one another had tied their souls throughout the ages, and no matter when, where, and how, they would be reborn somewhere where the other was.

The world was cruel though, in that their souls never synchronized enough. Levi had been a bird, Eren had been a dog, one of them would die before the other, or even accidentally kill the other (Levi had broken down in Eren's arms after confessing what happened in their last lives. Eren had forgiven him immediately of course.) They had lost count of how many lives they had lived without one another, all of them blending into a blur of crippling loneliness and longing for the other.

Now though, they could be together. There were no Titans. There was no Military Police to tear them apart. There was no reason for Levi to kill Eren again (unless he left the stove on) and they could be together without anyone coming between them.

Plus, his mom wouldn't be able to catch them doing anything naughty now that they lived somewhere else. 

Levi tried to wait until Eren became twenty at least, but Eren just couldn't wait. It had been hundreds of lifetimes without his lover, and they were making up for lost time. Lots of it. At this point, Eren had practically moved in with Levi, occasionally going back home for dinner. He didn't want to be apart from his "heichou" ever again, and wanted to make up their first lives together in this peaceful world.

Staring up at the bright blue sky, Eren smiled wistfully. "This world sure is beautiful..." He murmured.

Levi glanced up at him before following his gaze to the sky. "Yeah..." He agreed, his hand reaching out to take Eren's. "...Do you ever wonder if the others reincarnated like us?" It had been a question that had plagued him, but it had never been at the forefront of his mind. Only Eren mattered.

Eren hummed, tugging Levi closer and relishing how his older lover was still shorter than him this time. "Sometimes, but...I hope that if they're out there somewhere, they don't remember our pasts." He leaned his face up and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun caressing his skin. "We can leave that behind now. This world is beautiful and peaceful and we're finally together. Maybe we'll bump into Mikasa one day, or Armin, but until then, we'll always stay together." He turned to look down at Levi with a bright smile, unfettered by any guilt or pain. "Right?"

Levi felt his breath leave him at the sight. No matter how many times he saw it, he could never get over the power and beauty of Eren's smile. "...Yeah." He croaked out. 

Clenching his jaw, Levi reached up and tugged his stupidly tall lover down, pressing their lips together in a tender kiss. Eren closed his eyes and hummed in bliss, knowing that no matter what, they had each other now, human to human.

The world was finally peaceful enough for them to be together.

"I love you."

**Author's Note:**

> oof this hurt me to write. This is a oneshot and so is complete!
> 
> Please let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!


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